Hi chaps, I’m thinking about getting one of the new iMacs to replace my excellent (but aging) G4 with 24" display, I love it but it’s starting to show signs that worry me a little - anyway - anyone any experience of these newer machines please ? I live in Southampton (UK) and we have an Apple Store so I guess I’ll buy from there - Regards Roger
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I have two 24" iMacs, one I bought about a year ago and one I bought about 6 months ago. The only problem I’ve had is with the extra RAM I installed myself that I bought from Kingston. I can’t bring myself to pay Apple’s price for extra RAM and I have always bought RAM from third parties. This is the first time I’ve bought from Kingston, and turns out that the two chips I bought were “warring” with one another, and it was bogging everything down. It was a nightmare for a while, but it had nothing to do with the iMac. Once I took out one of the chips, everything worked fine. I’m working with 3GB of RAM on each computer.
The older one has a 250MB hard drive and the newer one has a 320MB hard drive. Slightly different process speeds also. I do mostly graphics work and I never think I have a problem with the machine dragging.
I don’t know why Apple computers have gone to the glossy screen instead of the anti-glare, but my newer iMac is glossy, and it sometimes bothers me. I think you may still have a choice, but I bought my computer through Amazon.com and there wasn’t a choice in screen type. I might have gotten a choice if I had bought it from my local Apple store, but then I would have had to pay sales tax, and when I order from Amazon, I don’t have to pay tax.
On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 7:35 AM, Roger Burton <email@hidden> wrote:
Hi chaps, I’m thinking about getting one of the new iMacs to replace my excellent (but aging) G4 with 24" display, I love it but it’s starting to show signs that worry me a little - anyway - anyone any experience of these newer machines please ? I live in Southampton (UK) and we have an Apple Store so I guess I’ll buy from there - Regards Roger
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On 24 Jul 2008, at 13:35, Roger Burton wrote:
anyone any experience of these newer machines please
Me again!
The company I’m currently freelancing with has just installed a pair
of the 24in 3.06GHz iMacs with 500GB hard drives.
All I can say is they are awesome. More than adequate for most
graphics use. Perhaps the only thing I’d think about is upping the
stock RAM to the maximum 4GB - but since Apple charge stupid money for
this, it’s probably worth just getting the standard 2GB, then buying a
pair of 2GB sticks cheaper from Crucial or similar at a later stage.
Heather
“Freeway - Web Design for All”
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Yes Crucial (UK) is good for memory,
The Machine, I’m typing this in is a 20" G5 2.1GHz iMac was upped to 2.5gb for only £40 earlier this year from Crucial, same 2gb memory when the machine was new was some £830!! (thought i’d wait till any Intel chip issues were well and truly sorted.)
I’m soon changing, soon, possibly to a new iMac, but I must admit I’m really not sure about the gloss screen.
David
On 24 Jul 2008, at 14:35, Heather Kavanagh wrote:
then buying a
pair of 2GB sticks cheaper from Crucial or similar at a later stage.
David Owen
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Yes the gloss screen is the only choice (I’m sure that’s what the guy in the apple store said, I’ll check) and it is something that concerns me, don’t they ever ask the end users what they’d prefer, I’ve not known anyone that likes it, - and Heather even the same guy in the apple store said go to crucial for ram ! It’s all sounding good, yes I’m mainly into general graphics work these days (I used to do more Broadcast graphics stuff and needed a bigger box to put video boards and stuff in but don’t really need that nowadays) - thanks for taking the time Regards Roger
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Travelers in the “graphics” circle certainly understand the reason
for non-glare screens, but line up a row of displays at the Costco or
similar, and ask passers-by which looks “richer” or “sharper”, and
they’ll pick the glossy one every time.
It’s simple – except for at the precise angle where a reflection
wipes out the entire screen, a glossy screen can show darker blacks
than a non-glare screen in a normally-lit room. This increases the
apparent contrast and richness of the image, even though the
underlying LCD and backlight might be the very same in both cases.
Apple is catering for the masses with this line of computers.
Years ago, I had a 500-pound Barco display (not really, but YOU try
and move it) that came with a suction-cup dingus to calibrate it, a
hood to keep stray light off, and came with a black bib to put on
when you didn’t want the reflection of your shirt to influence your
color choices. Naturally, it also had an anti-glare coating to go with.
Walter
On Jul 24, 2008, at 10:04 AM, Roger Burton wrote:
don’t they ever ask the end users what they’d prefer, I’ve not
known anyone that likes it
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Yup - Crucial
Price: £23.99 (EX. VAT)
Description: 2GB, 240-pin DIMM Upgrade for a Apple iMac (G5-2.1GHz, 20-inch) DDR2 System
That was in March - not sure what the price is today.
David
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Thanks David - crucial it is.
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Slightly more now but still very cheap:
Joe
On 25 Jul 2008, at 07:16, Roger Burton wrote:
Thanks David - crucial it is.
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On 25 Jul 2008, at 08:52, Joe Billings wrote:
Slightly more now but still very cheap:
True.
One thing to bear in mind is that Apple install two 1GB dimms, so if
you do upgrade to 4GB (2 x 2GB), you’ll have to effectively chuck out
the two that came in the box. Or stick 'em on eBay or whatever.
That said, the 2GB is adequate for me right now. I’ve got 2GB in my
MacBook Pro as well as the iMac, and I’ve not hit the buffers yet.
Heather
“Freeway - Web Design for All”
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Another vote for Crucial - only used them twice but never any problems. First time was to up the memory in a then-new G3 DV-SE iMac so that shows how long ago it was!
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Yeah, another vote for Crucial here. My lower-ram slot Powerbook G4 troubles were appeased half-hearted-ly with a 1GB stick at an affordable price.
I like the iMac’s. I’m hoping for a big 30 inch one so I can drop working on two screens for a while.
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Hi Dan don’t know what size your twin screens are but when I moved from a real job to working from home I had to leave a two screen set up and started using one 23" cinema display and I must say I don’t often miss the extra real estate, I thought I’d hate it … but 30" that would be interesting is there one on the cards ?
Roger
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Roger, good luck with your purchase.
I’ve has excellent service with the Applecare 3-year warranty plan (in the US) on my iMac G5. This provides unlimited phone support and repairs. I’ve had a technician come to the house to replace a fried modem, and towards the end of the 3 years, replace the hard disc. There was no charge for this and no paperwork. Highly recommended.
Jim
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Thanks for the comment Jim, yes I’m in two minds about the extended warranty as I’m stretching my budget buying a new machine anyway. I’m fortunate enough to have an Apple Store nearby so will sit and have a chat with them and let them ‘sell it’ to me (I’m afraid I’m a sucker for a good sales pitch).
Best Roger
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On 8 Aug 2008, at 07:35, Roger Burton wrote:
I’m fortunate enough to have an Apple Store nearby so will sit and
have a chat with them and let them ‘sell it’ to me (I’m afraid I’m a
sucker for a good sales pitch).
AppleCare can be taken out any time in the first 12 months of
ownership, so don’t feel pressured to take it out right away.
=o)
Heather
“Freeway - Web Design for All”
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Excellent tip, as ever Heather … very good point.
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I didn’t think I was going to like my glossy 24" screen on my new iMac either but I love it. Great depth of colour. I work at home so have total control of any possible reflecting light.
Good luck.
Vic
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Thanks Vic for the encouragement, yes I figure that I can, as I also work from home, get the positioning correct to reduce any reflections and take advantage of the depth of colour … best Roger
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Is there any particular (speed) benefit for buying the iMac with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS video card over buying the standard iMac 24" 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.
Bearing in mind I’m working on Web and print work rather than 3D stuff - and no 3D games - just work 
Anyone bought a 24" 2.8 or 3.06 iMac and can give any advice?
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